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Death threat to Hasina

20 July 2004, 18:00 PM
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
By Shams Md. Jabed Sufian, Sylhet
20 July 2004, 18:00 PM
. PHOTO: STAR
We, the general people are very much concerned about the death threat given to the leader of the opposition Sheikh Hasina. Actually it should not be considered as an isolated incident and cannot be taken lightly. In the recent years, we read many reports in local and international newspapers about the rise of militants in Bangladesh. We also experienced a series of bomb attacks on cultural functions and recently on the British High Commissioner. Political killings and law and order downfall are also visible in an alarming rate. A few months ago, an MP was killed in broad daylight. But most of the terrorists across the country are not brought to justice, criminals are not being punished. This encourages the criminals to be more desperate. They have gained such strength that they can give death threat to a former prime minister who is also the president of a large political party. If such efforts of the terrorists go unchallenged in future, then they may, who knows, challenge the government. So, effective measures should be taken to curb crime. The government should provide sufficient security to the leader of the opposition. The SSF should be employed in this business. After the last general election, the government withdrew SSF from Sudha Sadan, the residence of Hasina. But the government should realise that the security of Sheikh Hasina is a very important issue.

After the attack on Prof. Humayun Azad the government employed armed security men to guard prominent citizens. It showed the government's honest desire to save the life of prominent intellectuals from terrorist attacks.

But if the criminals are not brought to justice, especially the militant Islamist groups, then they will continue to grow beyond control. It is not possible to provide gunmen for all of the 140 million people.

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Telephonic threats these days is a part of the current culture of violence. Hence it is not surprising to read newspaper report that the chief of the Awami League has been receiving telephonic threats at home and abroad.

The political culture has definite link with the social behavior pattern, as the politicians have become practically omnipotent with their omnipresence. This is a nuisance, and the godfathers behind the scenes have to be handled firmly by whose responsible for creating such situations in the first place. the moral question is : depend on truth, or on goondas ? This is the indirect price of politics of violence, not only in Bangladesh, but all over the world.

There is a wise saying to the effect that violence returns to the source as a moral punishment. It is the environmental effect, and innocents also suffer. Dhaka has become a living hell without political consensus on common issues.

The message is clear take action, or retire into safety nets.

A Mahseen, Dhaka